ALLEN KIM is senior counsel in the firm’s Commercial Litigation and Disputes practice in Los Angeles. He has spent a considerable amount of time focusing on complex litigation and international arbitration in Los Angeles as well as the firm’s Hong Kong office. While based in the Hong Kong region, he was able to build on the considerable successes by the firm in representing Asia-based clients in multi-jurisdictional litigation and in international arbitration.
Throughout his career, Allen’s clients have entrusted him with “bet-the-company” or “must-win” cases, both in court and in arbitration. He has extensive experience in handling disputes arising out of international joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property license and technology transfer agreements, as well as in matters involving securities, RICO and mass tort class actions. Allen also serves as an arbitrator in international arbitration matters. Examples of Allen’s significant experience includes:
- Representing a leading Korean semiconductor manufacturer in a dispute with a leading manufacturer of data storage devices in an arbitration under the aegis of International Center for Dispute Resolution of the American Arbitration Association.
- Successfully represented one of the largest Korean construction companies in a dispute with a Central Asian Republic and its Sovereign Wealth Fund arising out of a US$5 billion power plant project in that country. The settlement compensated the Korean company for its losses resulting from the suspension of that project.
- Prevailed in an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration hearing in which we acted for a Korean pharmaceutical company in a dispute with a German-Swiss company arising out of the joint development agreement for biologics product. After defeating the Claimant’s nine-figure lost profit and its alternative high eight-figure wasted costs claims, the Korean company was awarded substantially all of its attorneys’ fees and costs.
- Successfully settled and resolved several trade secret matters involving parallel civil proceedings and government criminal investigations.
- Successfully represented Korean multinational companies in antitrust matters pending in the United States and the European Union.
Allen has been recognized by Chambers Asia Pacific for Dispute Resolution (2012 – 2019) and in the 2019 edition of Chambers Asia Pacific a client reports that “He displayed strong leadership in setting the course and rendering the overall strategy,” and a market source describes Allen as “a very good US litigator.” Chambers Global recognized Allen for his work in International Arbitration (2014 – 2016 and 2018 – 2019) and Dispute Resolution (2013 – 2019). The editorial praises Allen for his handling of cross-border disputes, including international arbitration and IP litigation.
Allen is fluent in Korean and has worked throughout his career with a number of Asian companies, including Korean, Japanese and Chinese multi-national companies.